COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: UQ University, Rosannaugh Smith
On the 9th of January, the fifteen of us were anxiously awaiting our flight to Cambodia for our nursing trip. Many of us slept through the first before continuing the sleep at Singapore Airport. Arriving in Siem Reap, it felt similar to stepping off in Australia.
Once inside the airport doors, this quickly changed. Our visas were assessed and our fingerprints were taken before we collected our luggage and were bussed to our hotel. After settling into our rooms, we went for our first food in Cambodia in a restaurant called ‘Neary Khymer’. There were many new things to try and a few girls tried Coconut Shakes! After lunch, we visited the Angkor Hospital for Children, which relies upon donations to keep going. Thomas (In Country Partner) then offered a short walking tour of the city. It was very interesting walking around Siem Reap.
Everywhere you go, you get offered a Tuk Tuk, there are shops everywhere and everything is very cheap! A can of drink costs approximately 1 USD. We spent the rest of the evening chilling out and getting over our jetlag.
Thursday morning was spent in a language lesson, with the achievement of being able to hold a basic conversation! We then all packed our bags and climbed on the buses headed for Kra Lanh…the homestay! After another traditional lunch we headed to ‘My Grandfather’s House’ a local supplementary school. We would be holding some health promotion lessons for the students focusing on hand washing, teeth brushing and basic first aid. It was loads of fun, such a wonderful way to begin our trip in Cambodia.
The children were willing to listen and be involved, with many of them helping to improve our Khmer! When lessons were finished we played games with the kids. Their smiling faces removing any remaining fatigue and making our day. After piling into the buses and wishing the kids goodbye we headed to Phnom Kra Lahn to watch the sunset. There was a wedding at the bottom of the hill with music playing so as we all watched the sun set over Cambodia for the second time there was a surreal feeling. We also found out that below us was one of the killing fields and there was a small child running around in it with a kite with made the situation very eerie. We ate dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the homestay at Kunn’s mother’s house.
Thomas has explained to us earlier about having a shower outside using these giant drums of water, however many of us were disinclined to be nude. Zeebon showed us that they use these giant elasticated strapless dresses, so half the group decided that while in Cambodia we should do as the Cambodians! It was pretty hilarious and felt very refreshing. We then all returned to our beds. For that night it would be a thin mattress on the floor under a mosquito net. Settling down we chatted about our experiences of the day and wondered what was in store for the next!
Most of us slept well overnight and we rose early for breakfast, ready for the next experience…an ox cart ride! Climbing into them, was a bit challenging and they definitely got the heart racing as they didn’t look a hundred percent sturdy! However, once we started moving the finesse in construction showed. The ride was an awesome forty minutes although your behind was a little numb by the end. There were a few hairy moments when we had a drive through some deep mud or when the cart in front lost the rim but they all made the entire journey. After dismounting and thanking our drivers we climbed into the vans for our first full day in Siem Reap. Many of us used this time to explore the town centre, getting massages or going shopping and buying pants.
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